In a known method of moving loads, the loads are placed on pallets and the pallets are placed on roller conveyors inclined at an angle to the horizontal so that the pallets move along, and down, the conveyor under the force of gravity. The speed of the loads must be controlled to ensure the safety of the system operatives and to ensure that the goods on the pallets are not damaged. In such systems it is therefore necessary to incorporate brakes to prevent the loads moving at too great a speed. Typically, in conveyors having a track formed by a plurality of conveyor rollers, the speed control is achieved by brake rollers. Brake rollers comprise a roll element of the roller conveyor which is acted upon directly by the load or, alternatively, may comprise a separate brake roller in contact with the underside of the rollers of the conveyor track. The brake rollers may either provide a constant braking force, or may include a centrifugally operable braking system which provides a braking force dependent upon the speed of rotation of the roller.
One problem of the known systems is that they do not adequately cater for variations in the weight of the individual loads, i.e., the braking force is not load-sensitive or load-proportional. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor in which the braking force applied to loads is load-sensitive.